Chronology of major events leading to abolishment of S. Korea-U.S. missile guidelines

SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronology of major developments leading to the decision by South Korea and the United States to end the missile guidelines that have restricted Seoul's development of missiles with a flight range of 800 kilometers and longer.

1979 -- South Korea and the U.S. reach an agreement on the first guidelines that limit the range of Seoul's missiles to 180 kilometers with a maximum payload weight of 500 kilograms.

2001

Jan. 17 -- The cap on South Korea's missile range is extended to 300 km under the first revision to the guidelines in exchange for Seoul's accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an international anti-missile proliferation regime. The maximum payload weight remains at 500 kg.

2012

Oct. 7 -- South Korea announces new missile guidelines with the U.S., extending the maximum range of South Korea's ballistic missiles to 800 km, a distance long enough to reach all of North Korea. The agreement also allows Seoul to load its missiles with warheads heavier than the previous limit of 500 kg on the condition their range decreases in proportion.

2017

Aug. 6 -- Top diplomats of South Korea and the U.S. agree to begin negotiations to revise the missile guidelines "as early as possible" during talks held on the sidelines of ministerial meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Sept. 1 -- President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump hold phone talks and agree to push for a revision to the missile guidelines.

Sept. 5 -- Moon and Trump hold phone talks and agree to remove the limit on the payload of South Korean missiles.

Oct. 28 -- Defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. pledge to implement "at the earliest opportunity" the decision by the two countries' leaders to remove the limit on South Korea's missile payloads.

Nov. 7 -- Moon and Trump agree to completely remove the limit on missile payloads after a bilateral summit at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

2020

July 28 -- South Korea and the U.S. agree to lift restrictions on Seoul's use of solid fuels for its space rocket launches in the fourth revision of the missile guidelines and the second since Moon took office.

2021

May 22 -- South Korea and the U.S. agree to terminate the guidelines, eliminating the 800-kilometer cap on the maximum flight range of South Korean missiles.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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